Pakistan ‘scared’ with Indian Army response after soldiers’ beheading: Report

The Indian Army's response after the beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani Army has apparently made the latter nervous and 'scared.

Pakstan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit to troops deployed along Line of Control in Nikial Sector on May 13. (Source: ISPR)

The Indian Army’s response after the beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani Army has apparently made the latter nervous and ‘scared’ according to a report by The Indian Express.

According to the report, top Indian Army sources in Jammu and Kashmir have said that radio intercepts and intelligence inputs show a “very high state of alert” on the Pakistani side of the border since the start of May.

Two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated by Pakistan Army on May 1, when the latter laid an ambush after crossing into the Indian side of the border in Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

On May 13, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan released three statements accusing India of ceasefire violations and warning of “unintended consequences”.

“Indian Army has been targeting innocent civilians on both sides of Line of Control in recent past. Any misadventure by Indian Army across Line of Control will be a miscalculation, shall be responded with full force and could lead to unintended consequences,” said one of the ISPR releases.

Another ISPR release said, “Indian ceasefire violations continue through the day. After Nikial in the morning now in Baroh sector. Exchange of fire continues. Pakistani troops aggressively engaging Indian bunkers firing on civilians.”

These statements came after Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited his troops in Nikial Sector along the LoC. According to ISPR, Bajwa “appreciated high state of operational readiness, effective response to Indian Cease Fire Violations and high morale of troops. COAS also visited parents of shaheed Lieutenant Khawar at his home who embraced shahadat during an operation at Bannu.”

IE reported Indian Army sources as saying that such statements from Pakistan reflected the mindset of Pakistan Army, which was worried about Indian Army’s response to the beheading of two soldiers. “Such a statement is highly unusual and it follows their chief’s visit to the area. It is almost an admission that they are scared of our response,” sources told IE. However, they didn’t provide details about the “certainty, nature or time of a trans-LoC response”. They said, “these are matters which are decided at the highest levels after considering many factors. Our options and plans have always existed, even before these beheadings took place”.

In the last two weeks, India Army has adopted a stronger stance on the LoC in the Naushera-Poonch sector targeting Pakistani posts, reports IE.

On Sunday, two terrorists were killed in a “swift joint operation” with Jammu and Kashmir Police at Bhagatpura, Handwara in North Kashmir.